Aiming higher Air21
by Josef RamosTuesday, 17 June 2008 (573 Views, 54 Comments)
Air21, seeking to intensify its outright semifinals bid, tries to do its best to reach the 10-win mark Friday night, when it takes on Welcoat in the 33rd PBA Smart Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
“Each game, whether we win or lose, we take it as lesson like what happened to our game against Alaska,” said BoPerasol, the Air21 coach. “But the attitude of my players are bringing them to different level just what they did when they beat Talk ‘N Text.”
Air21 nipped Talk ‘N Text, 112-111, last Friday night to post a 9-6 slate, then Red Bull and Coca-Cola lost to their respective rivals to create a three-way tie on top of the team standings with these three teams holding identical 9-6 card.
“I know it’s going to be tough facing a team like the Welcoat Dragons who seek to end a losing streak,” said Perasol. “I’m sure the boys will not allow the Dragons to end their misery against us. Our goal right now is to become No. 1.”
Steve Thomas, the 6-foot-9 hulking import of the Express, who averaged 23 points and 19 rebounds in the last 15 outings, is expected to carry the load for the Express, while locals Nino KG Canaleta, Arwind Santos and Gary David are also there to step up.
Welcoat, which lost to Air21 in the first round, 105-96, rehired Alex Compton as second import the other day to replace American point guard Corey Santee. Compton will play alongside Marquis Gainous to try to save the Dragons’ sagging campaign.
The Dragons are currently in the bottom of the team standings with 4-11 card.
Air21 also relies on playmaker Wynne Arboleda, Homer Se and Ranidel De Ocampo to match up Welcoat’s rookie Joe De Vance, Joey Mente and Jay-R Reyes, among others.
David, who scored 25 points against Talk ‘N Text, is definitely the guy to watch as he made promise to keep his great showing to guide the Air21 Express for their first ever outright semifinals seat in the league since they entered in 2002.
Air21’s best performance was when it took home the third place honor in 2005-06 Fiesta Conference with 6-foot-6 import Shawn Daniels.
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gibz24 Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 9:17 pm
kaya nyu yan hahah
adrian Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 9:18 pm
sigurado panalo air21 bukas?
sino pupunta sa araneta bukas?
magdala ulit kayo nung violet na balloon…
go gary david…
noname Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 9:23 pm
kayang kaya yan! AIR21 NUMBER ONE! yung “EXPRESS DEFENSE” mas tumitindi na!
air21dbest! Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 10:13 pm
gary david, kaunting ingat bka mapano ka nanaman.. kailangan ka pa sa finals.. goodluck for air21!!! kya nyo yn.. finals here we come..
chris21 Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 10:14 pm
i hope they will win sa game bukas!!!
GO GO GO, wag magkompyansa ok?! pairalin natin ang desciline!!!
win it guys!!!
take the lead!!!
air21dbest! Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 10:16 pm
wooohooo!!!!
air21dbest! Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 10:18 pm
mag ingat pla.. the first time we had beaten the dragons their import was not gainous and compton.. wag mxado makumpyansa guys.. fight like naghahabol tyo.. fight like we are not on the top.. go air21!
noname Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 10:43 pm
dapat na atittude sa express bukas at dapat every game yung gutom sa panalo!
-=311=- Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 10:50 pm
gary david best player of the game niyan bukas!!
murdoc Tuesday, 17 June 2008 at 11:08 pm
Go beat the Dragons, show the Express Offense-Defense. Consider all remaining games as thriller and deathmatch games. Kung tagtuyot na yung ibang teams kasi matagal nang walang kampeonato, sorry pero malamang Team Air21 ang pipitas nyan! Basta composure lang sa laro at walang kumpiyansa, dehado o liyamado man ang makalaban ng team kakayanin!
Go fight Air21!!!
Mike of Kuwait Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 1:47 am
Yep ..Yep ..Yep ..Air 21 will fly to the top ..Good Luck Guys and May God Bless us all the way to the finals ..
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:03 am
its time to shine!!
kitmac Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:06 am
Go, AIR 21, GO!!!
torch Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:12 am
gud luck ipanalo nio yan pra wlang k tie
jimmuel Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 8:00 am
discipline lang// oki na yan.. sana… kaya nyo yan… ingat lang kay de vance at jay r
ma'am ♥ Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 8:12 am
Goodluck to all! Hoping for the team to gain solo lead! Woohooooo!!!
@adrian
I’ll watch later sa Araneta. Sana nga may balloons!
sherryl Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:02 am
Go Air 21…alam ko kayang kaya yan! Kahit lumang-bago import ng makakalaban natin, we will still win!! Go guys…
sherryl Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:05 am
Maglalaro daw c alex compton mamaya sa game replacing corey santee pero kaya natin yan..just make sure na hindi papasok mga tres nila. Ayaw naman natin matulad sa PF, di ba guys?!!
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:09 am
ito guyz live stream game 6 NBA hehehehe boston vs LAL http://ziucchiradio.altervista.org/index.php
-=iyah31=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 11:48 am
you’ll definitely make it guys to the semifinals outright.. sama sama tyong mgiging no.1!!
jiroh Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 2:02 pm
air21 sa finals. i ken pil et!
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 2:12 pm
go air21!! go for the top spot.. talunin ang welcoat dragons, magnolia beverages and purefoods!!
go spiderman,the whirlwind, the human eraser
go mr. pure energy, the king
go snatcher
go KG, the sultan of slam, the Da Vinci of dunk
go ranidell, the Mighty Man
go mher, Big boy Homer
go marvin cruz
go egay billiones
go steve “GORI” thomas
go ervin sotto
go JC, Mr. Go-to-guy, the rocket
go gabby espinas
go doug kramer
go air21!!!
go laguna lakers
wooohoooo!!!
outright semis here we come
finals her we come
championship her we come!!!
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 2:46 pm
sana tayo ang BOSTON at LAKERS ang WELCOAT sa GAME 6 hehehehe dapat ganun ang mangyayari go BOSTON-AIR21 defeat LAKERS-WELCOAT!! hehehe
noname Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 4:03 pm
w8 lang ha…sorry pero hindi si jc ang go to guy natin…kay gary david parin…consistent pa talaga…
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:02 pm
woohooo, we are now on top.. go air21!!
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:09 pm
to noname: brad, bkit mo nman gnagawan ng isyu ang monicker ni JC? as an air21 fan dpat d ka humihirit ng ganyan.. alam nman natin na go to guy natin si gary, nagkataon lng na nman na monicker ni JC un.. u r creating division.. as a fan we should help our team as one.. no one player ang kyang dalhin ang team, kya pare wg nman humirit ng mkakasama sa player ng air21..
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:10 pm
*to be one pla.. hehe..
torch Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:18 pm
yes! panalo!
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:23 pm
10-6
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:33 pm
yes!! we made it guyz!!
dimples Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 7:48 pm
yahoooooo we won
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 8:14 pm
josef wala pa ba ang article?
mheems Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 8:16 pm
Maybe I saw you there guys, hindi lang ako aware. (sino- sino ang present sa game? I was there!)
I’m so happy that Air 21’s on top
10-6. Super nice!
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 9:32 pm
wla pang article xe nanuod pa si josef ng laro ng sta lucia.. kya malamang bukas pa ung article..
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 9:38 pm
AIR21 GRABS SOLO LEAD WITH CLIFFHANGER WIN OVER WELCOAT
Thomas’ endgame free throws bail out outright-semis-seeking Express
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Image
Besides the usual double-double numbers, which was even a triple double once – the only one this season, there’s one other reason why Air21 has continued to stick with Steve Thomas in a conference where half of the teams have already replaced their big imports.
“In the endgame, he can deliver,” said Air21 head coach Bo Perasol explained.
Thomas proved this by providing the Express with the poise in the dying seconds to lift his team to a 91-87 victory over Welcoat and at least a tie for an automatic quarterfinals seat in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Thomas scored the game’s last four points, the last two off his offensive rebound off a fourth straight missed charity by his teammates, resulting in a pair of free throws that enabled the Express to escape and grab solo leadership.
With their second straight win that improved their win-loss slate to 10-6, the Express should already be assured of free passage into the quarterfinals, although it could get even better as an automatic semifinals slot could be theirs should they win both their remaining eliminations games.
“Getting this 10th win is what we hoped to achieve and now we can start thinking about getting to the top two after the eliminations,” added Perasol.
The top two teams after the 18-game elims are rewarded automatic berths in the race-to-four semis, with the Nos. 3 to 5 teams seeded outright to the best-of-three quarterfinals.
The lofty position, which marks the first time Air21 has led a tournament this deep in the elims, almost did not materialize after Welcoat put up a whale of a fight, engaging Air21 through 17 lead changes and 15 deadlocks, the last at 87-all.
Then came Thomas’ heroics.
His jumphook pushed Air21 ahead and then the Express’ gaping rebounding advantage (61-40) fully surfaced following three-point misses by Rob Wainwright and Jireh Ibanes.
Wynne Arboleda and Ranidel de Ocampo took turns trooping to the stripe off fouls committed by Welcoat to stop the clock, a ploy sure to backfire since the two Express players are deemed unflappable.
But the two did muff their respective charities, propping the Dragons’ fluttering hopes.
Then Thomas came up with his endgame heroics for the four-point cushion in the last 7.5 seconds of play, capping his 29-point, 13-rebound, four-shotblock game.
Marquis Gainous wound up with 34 points for the fourth-most in a game in franchise history and Alex Compton had 16 points but Welcoat still lost its 12th game in 16 outings.
Welcoat is left with the task of sweeping its last two games against Red Bull and Barangay Ginebra AND hoping Sta. Lucia, at ninth with a 6-8 slate, loses all its four remaining games, including one with Alaska later Wednesday night, for the Dragons to have a crack at one of the four wildcard berths.
Compton, a late replacement for Coree Santee, went 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, marking only the third time in 19 games since last season’s Fiesta Conference where he wound up without a triple.
But he was effective in the other aspects of the game, especially in putting some semblance of order on Welcoat’s plays that held together a team that has lost 11 games by an average of 14.2 points.
Gainous’ teardrop even gave Welcoat a 52-45 lead, the biggest in the game, 7:35 left in the third quarter.
Air21, however, was equally determined, although Perasol admitted he may have made a mistake in priming his players up for the game.
“Before the game, I was expecting we will breeze through (the game) because of all the motivations, about making history,” Perasol admitted. “I think I pressured them too much instead of letting them play and enjoy the game.” (NCo)
The scores:
Air21 91 — Thomas 29, David 14, Se 13, Santos 11, Arboleda 9, De Ocampo 7, Canaleta 4, Billones 4, Kramer 0, Cruz 0, Sotto 0.
Welcoat 87 — Gainous 34, Compton 16, Reyes 13, Ibanes 11, De Vance 7, Arana 4, Wainwright 2, Dulay 0, Baguion 0.
Quarterscores: 15-20, 38-42, 67-65, 91-87.
chris21 Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:05 pm
ayos!!! di ko man napanood ang game ehhh nanalo nmn tau guyz!!!!
we have taken the lead!!! 2 more wins at automatic semis na tayo!!!
noname Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:12 pm
oh! ano di ba tama ako!? NUMBER ONE NA TAYO! mga nag dodoubt sa team namin!…asa kayo!hehe dahil NUMBER ONE NA KAMI! FINALS NA TO! pagdadasal ko kayo express!
noname Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:21 pm
to air21dbest! haha nagalit ka ba brads? easy ka lang…at hindi ako humirit ng nakasama kay jc…
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:27 pm
ahihihhihihi see pagkapanalo agad ng SLR post agad ni josef dun ang bagong article niya pero dito aba kanina pa natapos ang laro!! mahina naman ba ang net josef?
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:28 pm
josef what the plan?
noname Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:39 pm
haha talaga bang nauna pa yung sa sta.lunan na website yung bagong article? eh tayo kanina pang first game??di bale may rason naman si sir josef diyan… STEVE THOMAS! YOUR THE BEST!
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:55 pm
iwasan mo na lng ung gnun na comment pag mabasa un.. sa tingin ko d gnun mgugustuhn un.. cge bra, basta no. 1 na tyo.. wooohooo.. go air21!! to the finals..
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:56 pm
**brad un hndi bra.. hehe
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:57 pm
bka save the best for the last.. hehe..
air21dbest! Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:58 pm
wla pa nman post na article sa kabila ah.. primer pa lng un.. mga tampururot! hehe..
chris21 Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 10:59 pm
heheheh masaya lahat noh?!
this is the best conference ever played by the espress right guyz?!
-=311=- Wednesday, 18 June 2008 at 11:12 pm
yup chris because of the pure energy!!
jmarc Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 12:04 am
ANG SAYA SAYA!!!!ULIT!!!!!
Resiliency…yan ang nagagawa ng team ngayon…na kahit sino pwede pumutok na kung alat ang isa may mag “step up”. Pero yung kanina talagang binibigay sa atin yung panalo,gsto lang ata ng mga boys pakabahin tayong mga fans.Buti na lang na rebound natin yung mga mintis na free throws and medyo inalat sa shoot ang Welcoat.Para sa atin talaga, kahit medyo parang wala sa tono ang laro ng mga delivery boys.
Sa mga pangyayari na ganyan dapat ma realize ng team na ihinahain ang sitwasyon sa kanila..it is up to them on what to do with the situation they have…andayn na pagtiisan at pagbuhusan ng trabaho para makagawa ng team history!!!!
Great job guys!!!!Kudos to the coaching staff!!!!Wag mgapabaya,step by step,wag na bumitaw!Go for that outright semis slot kaya yan!!!!!
Management it is time to fully support the team…ibigay ang dapat ibigay,suportahan ang team…BONUS ang katapat nyan sa hardwork ng mga boys natin!!!! How about the EXPRESS DANCERS!!!!!!
LETS GO EXPRESS LETS GO!!!!!!
Hi to Vanessa of ABC 5!!!Miss you!!!!!!
chris21 Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 12:06 am
well may point ka, but don’t you think there are others who contributed too that needs to be acknowledge aside from david?
everyone did well i think kasi nanalo tayo, so let’s give credit to those who contributed well…
opinion lng naman toh guyz…
to evryone job well done!!!
jmarc Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 12:08 am
air21dbest
sama mo naman coaching staff and mgmt sa mga greetings mo!
Go Coach Bo!
Go Coach Leo
Go Coach Benj!
Go Coach Chester!
Go Boss Lito!
ces drilon Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 5:56 am
Hoy 311 sabay lang nagpost ang sta lucia at air21 masyado kang mapulitika… 3:00am… pagod na nga yung tao nagsasalita ka pa ng kasinungalingan…
Mabuhay ang Air21 at Sta. Lucia…Avid fan ako ni David, Santos, KG, Arboleda at Ranidel… Sama mo na si Se…
Sta. Lucia si Ryan at Kelly lang…
torch Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 6:21 am
AIR21 GRABS SOLO LEAD WITH CLIFFHANGER WIN OVER WELCOAT
Thomas’ endgame free throws bail out outright-semis-seeking Express
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Besides the usual double-double numbers, which was even a triple double once – the only one this season, there’s one other reason why Air21 has continued to stick with Steve Thomas in a conference where half of the teams have already replaced their big imports.
“In the endgame, he can deliver,” said Air21 head coach Bo Perasol explained.
Thomas proved this by providing the Express with the poise in the dying seconds to lift his team to a 91-87 victory over Welcoat and at least a tie for an automatic quarterfinals seat in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Thomas scored the game’s last four points, the last two off his offensive rebound off a fourth straight missed charity by his teammates, resulting in a pair of free throws that enabled the Express to escape and grab solo leadership.
With their second straight win that improved their win-loss slate to 10-6, the Express should already be assured of free passage into the quarterfinals, although it could get even better as an automatic semifinals slot could be theirs should they win both their remaining eliminations games.
“Getting this 10th win is what we hoped to achieve and now we can start thinking about getting to the top two after the eliminations,” added Perasol.
The top two teams after the 18-game elims are rewarded automatic berths in the race-to-four semis, with the Nos. 3 to 5 teams seeded outright to the best-of-three quarterfinals.
The lofty position, which marks the first time Air21 has led a tournament this deep in the elims, almost did not materialize after Welcoat put up a whale of a fight, engaging Air21 through 17 lead changes and 15 deadlocks, the last at 87-all.
Then came Thomas’ heroics.
His jumphook pushed Air21 ahead and then the Express’ gaping rebounding advantage (61-40) fully surfaced following three-point misses by Rob Wainwright and Jireh Ibanes.
Wynne Arboleda and Ranidel de Ocampo took turns trooping to the stripe off fouls committed by Welcoat to stop the clock, a ploy sure to backfire since the two Express players are deemed unflappable.
But the two did muff their respective charities, propping the Dragons’ fluttering hopes.
Then Thomas came up with his endgame heroics for the four-point cushion in the last 7.5 seconds of play, capping his 29-point, 13-rebound, four-shotblock game.
Marquis Gainous wound up with 34 points for the fourth-most in a game in franchise history and Alex Compton had 16 points but Welcoat still lost its 12th game in 16 outings.
Welcoat is left with the task of sweeping its last two games against Red Bull and Barangay Ginebra AND hoping Sta. Lucia, at ninth with a 6-8 slate, loses all its four remaining games, including one with Alaska later Wednesday night, for the Dragons to have a crack at one of the four wildcard berths.
Compton, a late replacement for Coree Santee, went 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, marking only the third time in 19 games since last season’s Fiesta Conference where he wound up without a triple.
But he was effective in the other aspects of the game, especially in putting some semblance of order on Welcoat’s plays that held together a team that has lost 11 games by an average of 14.2 points.
Gainous’ teardrop even gave Welcoat a 52-45 lead, the biggest in the game, 7:35 left in the third quarter.
Air21, however, was equally determined, although Perasol admitted he may have made a mistake in priming his players up for the game.
“Before the game, I was expecting we will breeze through (the game) because of all the motivations, about making history,” Perasol admitted. “I think I pressured them too much instead of letting them play and enjoy the game.” (NCo)
The scores:
Air21 91 — Thomas 29, David 14, Se 13, Santos 11, Arboleda 9, De Ocampo 7, Canaleta 4, Billones 4, Kramer 0, Cruz 0, Sotto 0.
Welcoat 87 — Gainous 34, Compton 16, Reyes 13, Ibanes 11, De Vance 7, Arana 4, Wainwright 2, Dulay 0, Baguion 0.
Quarterscores: 15-20, 38-42, 67-65, 91-87.
torch Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 6:26 am
2007-2008 Fiesta Conference
Team W L PCT
Air21 10 6 0.625
Coca Cola 9 6 0.600
Red Bull 9 6 0.600
Alaska 8 7 0.533
Magnolia 8 7 0.533
Talk N Text 7 8 0.467
Sta Lucia 7 8 0.467
Purefoods 7 8 0.467
Brgy Ginebra 7 8 0.467
Welcoat 4 12 0.250
noname Thursday, 19 June 2008 at 7:25 am
si boss lito ng ma shoot ni steve yung unang free throw! nag number one sign na eh!hehehe… basta PANAHON NATIN NGAUN! NARARAMDAMAN KO NA YUNG FINALS! CHAMPION NA TO!hehehe… si homer se talagang kakaiba na laro ngaun!